DJIBOUTI/FILE: A new livestock health certification facility set up in Djibouti to boost livestock exports from the Horn of Africa to the Middle East

The tiny country of Djibouti is planning to be the largest exporter of livestock in the Horn of Africa and is hoping to export over a million head of cattle a year, mostly to the Middle East, following the creation of a regional livestock commission. The country has invested in a facility outside of Djibouti city to help rekindle the trade between Horn of Africa countries and the Arabian Peninsula and is shortly to hand over the facility to private management. The Djibouti Regional Livestock Export Facility includes holding pens, quarantine facilities and veterinary services which will serve pastoralists in Djibouti, Somalia, and Ethiopia, where livestock rearing is the main economic activity outside urban centres. Animals intended for export will be examined and certified here to help allay the fears of consumer countries like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which banned livestock imports from the Horn of Africa after an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in 1997. Livestock exporters in places like Somaliland's Bosasso port experienced a 44 percent drop in orders. Although most Gulf states have now lifted the ban, livestock producers in the region are still struggling to guarantee animal health. In addition, the exporters are facing stiff competition from more sophisticated operators in countries like Australia. The Red Sea Livestock Trade Commission (LTC) was set up by the African Union to help Horn of Africa countries trade in disease free and top quality livestock and livestock products with Middle Eastern countries like Egypt, Yemen, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. One of the LTC's main strategies is to promote dialogue between exporters in Africa and their customers in the Gulf. "We know that the resources are very huge in our region either in Ethiopia, or in Somalia, or in Djibouti, but what we lacked was the necessary facilities to do that, and this project has been, is, a really good opportunity to do that. We, the government of Djibouti invested in it, we have conceded the management to a foreign investor," said Djibouti's foreign minister, Mohamed Ali Yusuf. The facility is part of another strategy to guarantee quality control. It is equipped to examine and certify over one million head of livestock every year. "The main aim was to increase trade between the livestock producers in the greater Horn of Africa region and consumers in the Middle East under one organisation where livestock trade, disease control and related issues can be discussed and managed jointly," said Simon Miyuki from the East African Bureau of Animal Resources. But insecurity in Somalia may affect supply. A cycle of droughts and floods in the region have also taken their toll on herd numbers and grazing land. Having the facility is a major step in the long hard task of giving people in this impoverished region a viable means for survival and development. The governments of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia have invested in the multi-million dollar facility which is also funded by the USAID - the American's government aid agency.

ITN Source | November 28, 2006

Tags:. .centres. .urban. .port. .resources. .lifted